A worker prepares to eat a small quantity of sun-dried cocoa beans at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A field worker from the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) identifies cocoa trees affected by swollen shoot disease on a farm in the Osino community in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 27, 2024. In its most sobering assessment to date, according to data compiled since 2018 and obtained exclusively by Reuters, Ghana's cocoa marketing board Cocobod estimates that 590,000 hectares of plantations have been infected with swollen shoot, a virus that will ultimately kill them. Once infected with swollen shoot, plantations must be ripped out and the soil treated before cocoa can be replanted. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Field workers from the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) identify cocoa trees affected by swollen shoot disease on a farm in the Osino community in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 27, 2024. In its most sobering assessment to date, according to data compiled since 2018 and obtained exclusively by Reuters, Ghana's cocoa marketing board Cocobod estimates that 590,000 hectares of plantations have been infected with swollen shoot, a virus that will ultimately kill them. Once infected with swollen shoot, plantations must be ripped out and the soil treated before cocoa can be replanted. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A fly rests on sun-dried cocoa beans at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A worker sews up a rip in sacking at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Trees stand in a cocoa farm in Osino in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 27, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Cocoa beans are sun-dried outside a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A cocoa pod grows on a farm in Osino in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 27, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A worker transports a bag of sun-dried cocoa beans at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Field workers from the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) inspect cocoa farmlands destroyed by illegal gold mining activities in Kwabeng, in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A drone view shows cocoa plantations and farms destroyed by illegal gold mining in Kwabeng, in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Women walk near a trailer that is getting loaded with bags of sun-dried cocoa beans at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A shows containers carrying fuel for illegal small-scale mining operations, stored near a destroyed cocoa plantation in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
A view shows sun-dried cocoa beans which are bagged, weighed and stored at a licensed buying company's warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60 percent of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko SEARCH "KOKOROKO GHANA COCOA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Chocolate prices to keep rising as West Africa’s cocoa crisis deepens
